Desperate Housewives faces uncertain future, will likely end in 2013

Desperate Housewives has just begun its seventh season, but could it be its last?

Desperate Housewives creator Marc Cherry hopes his long-running soap will last until 2013, but prolonged cast renegotiations could mean the current season will be its last.

"The actresses are still in hot and heavy negotiations, so as of this moment everyone is hopeful and optimistic that we'll be returning for an eighth season," Cherry told TV Guide. “But until the women have signed on there's no guarantee.”

Cherry’s contract with the US network expires in 2013, that’s when the series will likely end.

"I think that’s what everyone would be happy with," he said. "So yeah, that would be the end of Desperate Housewives. I think nine years would be a really good long run."

The uncertainty won’t last long, with Cherry pressuring the network to complete negotiations before the end of February, to allow him time to wrap up the series should negotiations fail.

"I’ve specifically asked [ABC] to please get the deal done as quickly as possible so I can know," Cherry said. "I would hate to have to wrap up Desperate Housewives in an untidy fashion just because they weren’t able to make a deal. But everyone’s pretty optimistic a deal will be made."